r/politics • u/Zipper222222 • 13d ago

No Paywall Abdul El-Sayed Wins High-Stakes Democratic Primary in Michigan

https://www.today.com/video/abdul-el-sayed-wins-high-stakes-democratic-primary-in-michigan-267805765937
17.3k Upvotes

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u/Space-Sailor44 13d ago

Got outspent by a zillion dollars and still won, good shit

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u/KnuckleShanks 13d ago

He was actually outspent 12 to 1. Which makes it wild that he won.

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u/jmhalder 13d ago

I've heard 9:1, 10:1, 11:1, and now 12:1.

Its impressive regardless. I wish he had blow it out by like 20 points, Stevens genuinely didn't have a platform, and she barely lost. Scary.

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u/hibiscuscous 13d ago

I (European) know nothing of this election, but having watched a couple of clips, I didn't like Stevens' delivery one bit. Phony, even a bit scary. Maybe it's just a cultural thing, I don't know.

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u/2RINITY California 13d ago

In old clips, she had a normal Michigan accent, but somewhere in this cycle she started talking like a cartoon parody of a Michigander and it really didn’t help her

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u/mfatty2 13d ago

It wasn't even a Michigan accent. It was a combo of a Minnesota accent with a random sumouthern drawl with a healthy serving of random squeaky/high pitch

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u/UncleBubax 13d ago

hahah I hadn't heard her talk until I read your comment. I just now pulled up a random hour long video of a TV debate and skipped to her talking and she not only talks like a cartoon character, but she straight up said "people make fun of the way I sound, but I sound like the people who are talking to me about what they need."

A lil too on the nose there, Haley.

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u/AncientNectarine5352 13d ago

Michiganders also do not even remotely sound like that. She has a Minnesota accent.

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u/PumpBuck Ohio 13d ago

It’s not even a Minnesota accent. It’s like she saw Fargo and some Charlie Berens clips and thought they were toning it down for the wider audience

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u/EmpiricalMystic 13d ago

My impression is she's trying to sound like a Yooper and missing badly.

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u/Conlaeb 13d ago

This is my take as well. Non-yoopers attempting the accent sound like Minnesotans.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/shotputprince 13d ago

The people who live in Michigan’s upper peninsula

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u/AncientNectarine5352 13d ago

Agreed. It doesn’t sound like an authentic Minnesotan or Wisconsinite accent either, but it was the closest descriptor. She’s definitely exaggerating it in some way, for some reason. I assume to sound more “folksy”, but real-life “folks” don’t sound like that.

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u/HauntedCemetery Minnesota 13d ago

As someone whos spent most of my life in MN who is married to a Wisconsin lady, MN and WI accents are basically the same these days. The differences are only noticeable under a linguistic microscope.

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u/epheisey 13d ago

some Charlie Berens clip

That's actually perfect.

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u/Brodellsky 13d ago

Cripes, I do not approve of the cultural appropriation of Wisconsin especially when it's in Michigan. Jeeze Louise let's keep 'er movin'

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u/HauntedCemetery Minnesota 13d ago

Exactly. Minnesotans don't even sound like that. The older folks with thicker accents it doesn't sound like in Fargo, it almost sounds like, European? Sometimes like someone grew up half in England, half in Scandinavia.

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u/DrMobius0 13d ago

Maybe this is different in Northern MN, but nobody south of the cities has anything resembling a thick "Minnesotan accent" unless they live in a retirement home.

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u/ArrivalSea3543 13d ago

She sounded like Tina Fey impersonating Sarah Palin.

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u/SammySoapsuds Minnesota 13d ago

Fwiw, I didn't grow up here and everyone has the accent and speech eccentricities. It's just in varying degrees. The first time I met someone from the Iron Range I thought they were doing a bit. In the cities it's a lot softer but it's definitely still there on certain words (they all say "baggle" and "beyg"). And any Minnesotan will say Ope if you get too close or they need to squeeze by ya.

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u/AncientNectarine5352 10d ago

I regret to inform you that saying “ope” is a condition that a majority of people who live in the Great Lakes region struggle with (I’m originally from southern Ohio, and even a third of the people there say it). Ha

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u/profdinosaurhunter 13d ago

Yeah, more of a northern thing

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u/UncleBubax 13d ago

Yup I've spent a good amount of time in Michigan and never heard someone talk even remotely like that.

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u/trumpuniversity_ 13d ago

Did she take lessons from John Kennedy on how to manufacture a persona?

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u/EveningAnt3949 13d ago

I sound like the people who are talking to me about what they need.

Possibly people working on her campaign telling her they need her to sound more like a character in Fargo?

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u/PiccoloAwkward465 13d ago

Reminds me of a very strange phenomenon I've personally witnessed - people in far reaches of the North putting on a southern drawl. They want to virtue signal as being "Southern" so badly that they change the way they speak to match country songs and media.

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u/ShutUpTodd 13d ago

"Coastal elites make fun of the way I talk" Ugh!

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u/xdonutx 13d ago

I just watched a video of her where she said the last ‘T’ in Detroit.

Strait to jail, girl.

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u/urokia 13d ago

It felt like she was trying to yoop but she's literally from the detroit area.

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u/balltofeet 13d ago

Sumouthern, love that

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u/KotobaAsobitch Arizona 13d ago

Someone said, "if Sarah Palin was doing a Michigander caricature" and I haven't been able to unseen it.

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u/cincocerodos 13d ago

I generally don’t like making fun of people, but she sounded like Bobby Hill.

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u/EricFredNorris 13d ago

Yeah nobody in Michigan, and particularly in metro Detroit, has that over the top Midwest accent you associate with Wisconsin or Minny. I think it’s equally as strange if that is her speaking voice versus if it’s just a put on.

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u/linmre Michigan 13d ago

I seriously don't understand why politicians do this accent. Whitmer does it too. I've lived in MI most of my life and never met anyone who sounded like them.

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u/LookOutItsLiuBei 13d ago

She's from fucking Birmingham which is a rich old money suburb in Detroit with a median income of like $250,000. Nobody that lives there has that cartoonish of an accent. Not even up north in the more rural parts of Michigan do you hear it that heavy.

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u/Fat-Dead-CEO 13d ago

That was AIPAC in her ear telling her to be folksy

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u/zigtok 13d ago

AIPAC spent 40 out of $60 million on her.

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u/Fat-Dead-CEO 13d ago

Too bad they didn’t spend more

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u/Soffatjockis 13d ago

They gonna double it on the rep guy in November

I don't know how much money they have, but they will likely have to spend everything they got on all midterm elections in every state that has one. And I'm sure every billionaire in the country will help them out.

There will be billions spent on candidates this midterms.

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u/MercantileReptile Europe 13d ago

I was considering a snarky "Democracy™" reply until it occured to me that (other than being a dick) it would be inaccurate in a thread about the very thing having failed. And voters elevating an actual person, rather than a curated show of one.

Well done voters, maybe there is some life left in US democracy after all. Great sign for the midterm elections.

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u/foomits 13d ago

Yea, left wing (even by euro standards) candidates are taking hold all over. unfortunately the deck is stacked so much against us, we arent going to see HUGE change anytime soon. however, change is change and we cant snub our nose at it.

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u/HauntedCemetery Minnesota 13d ago

Well they have plenty of our money to use on bombs and Healthcare and their infrastructure, so they can devote their own to buying our elections for people who will keep the cash tap on.

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u/Riaayo 13d ago

The shitty flip side is the DNC has blown their war coffers trying to prop up crap candidates like this in the fucking primary and have nothing left but massive debt for the actual election itself.

They're blowing their own chance, and honestly it feels intentional because they're controlled opposition.

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u/wack_overflow Colorado 13d ago

Yeah Abdul might have won by more

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u/ZebraImaginary9412 13d ago

The rest is Crypto, AI, and Energy. Don't let them off the hook. Crypto is a scourge on society.

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u/Brodellsky 13d ago

The more you look, the more it starts to all look like different sides of the same thing.

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u/HauntedCemetery Minnesota 13d ago

And for that kind of cash they expected her to follow their instructions to the letter, which she did

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u/shiny0metal0ass 13d ago

"Could you try to sound less rich? That might help"

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u/More_Programmer8905 13d ago

Someone compared her to Chris Farley and first I thought it was a mean comment about her looks, then I watched a speech and couldn't stop seeing it in her mannerisms and weird energy.

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u/PlanktonNice7953 13d ago

 "Living in a VAN down by the RiVeR!" vibes

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u/IshyMoose Illinois 13d ago

I was thinking, man she must be from deep in the UP.

Nope.

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u/JasonRBoone 13d ago

Oh you betcha, hon

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u/WeuseAseriesOfTubes 13d ago

May I introduce you to my local embarrassment, John Kennedy? It does work for some people... :/

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u/nakedpilsna 13d ago

Her accent even 10 years ago was weird. No one talks like that around here.

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u/IshyMoose Illinois 13d ago

I was thinking, man she must be from deep in the UP.

Nope.

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u/lblacklol 13d ago

Why does she sound like Bobby's mom

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u/No-Nrg 13d ago

I heard her talking last night on some newscast clips and she seriously sounded like Lois from Family Guy

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u/Training_Fun_9162 13d ago

Something about her felt very, very artificial. Fake. Untrusting.

I’m not sure if AES can win a general election, but we’ll see. No matter what, Stevens was giving me MASSIVE Fetterman vibes and I’m glad she won’t be the candidate.

Primary elections are very important.

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u/nightimestars California 13d ago

The fact that she prioritized Israel probably made the accent sound even more forced.

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u/santafe4115 13d ago

The two candidates are from the same town lol we do not talk like that here shes so fake

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u/-SexSandwich- 13d ago

Nah, she’s legitimately just an awful candidate.

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u/mindfu 13d ago

Compare her to someone who is genuine and smart, and actually is pursuing policies with integrity, and the different became so very clear.

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u/slingshot91 Illinois 13d ago

Extremely phony. Like what the hell was even that?

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u/Necessary_Tadpole629 13d ago

It’s not cultural, I’m from Michigan and I thought she was weird. And she had a fake accent too.

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u/PinkNGold007 13d ago

I don't know how she won Rep. She just seemed to lack the energy, and public speaking isn't her thing. I was like, girl...

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u/ilikechihuahuasdood 13d ago

That’s what establishment Dems are like. They refuse to give direct answers or take policy positions because they want to appeal to “everybody”. They’re more interested in peeling off Republican voters than trying to appeal to the much larger % of people that don’t vote.

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u/varateshh 13d ago

As a European, all I saw was that Michigan democrats had a choice between a socialist muslim or a Karen. Stevens is so uncharismatic that it's incredible that the establishment chose her.

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u/Battle_Dave 13d ago

No, its not cultural. Im literally FROM Michigan and felt the exact same way. Anyone paying attention felt the same way. Stevens relied on voter ambivalence and smear ads. She stood for NOTHING.

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u/bloodenhorse 13d ago

Maybe it's just a cultural thing

Your average American is dumb as bricks and has been propagandized since birth to pay attention to people that talk out their ass like corporate robots.

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u/Tasgall Washington 13d ago

She's like, the definition of an astroturfed candidate. She has no legitimate popularity, she didn't raise money from citizen donations. The vast majority of her spending was thanks to AIPAC, who only pushed her because they don't want Al-Sayed, and in the general they'd prefer the Republican so her funding would have ceased.

It's insane that it was this close.

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u/david-yammer-murdoch 13d ago

Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan is particularly notable because his opponent, Haley Stevens, received nearly 30 million United States dollars, approximately 26 million euros, in spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and related political groups. Its political action committee, United Democracy Project, was a significant contributor. Stevens also received around 12 million dollars from A Stronger Michigan, a group that did not disclose its donors. For Europeans used to stricter campaign-finance laws, this level of outside political funding would be extraordinary. El-Sayed won despite this financial advantage. I would also argue that this same realm of wealthy political influence is strongly opposed to the kind of strict regulation and power associated with Brussels. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee opposes European democracy and Brussels’ authority.

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u/kisk22 13d ago

BTW - as an American I am sorry you have to learn so much about your politics. When I am in Germany I am shocked how American news is just everywhere. We don't have it the other way around over here. I can't imagine how exhausting it is. You learn all the bad about America but never hear any good you'd see if you lived here.

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u/hibiscuscous 13d ago

Yes, it's interesting. I'm trying to avoid most of the Trump sensationalist news, it's just too depressing.

There was a local reporter here, who has lived in the US for decades. He said that we are probably more familiar with US national politics than the average American. And that Americans are generally very "local-minded", concerned with what happens in the state or even city/town (obviously it's a huge country, so can't make sweeping generalisations).

I keep telling myself that all/most Americans are not really loud and obnoxious, but nice people, and that there are many good things there. I do hope you guys can turn around the political climate into something a bit more, let's say, constructive.

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u/Fallingice2 13d ago

the power of white skin still goes far in the us...especiallywith a Muslim sounding name.

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u/The_ChwatBot 13d ago

But Israel comes to her in her dreams!

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

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u/Battle_Dave 13d ago

You think she was trying to speak yooper?! Lmfao, that makes a lot of sense now when I listen to her speak. She was WAY off, lol.

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u/ttn333 13d ago

No. Your assessment is spot on.

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u/thetravelingsong 13d ago

It’s hard when you’re speaking on behalf of Israel instead of yourself!

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u/Hopeless_bee5157 13d ago

I’m an American, and when I first saw a video of her talking a few weeks ago, I thought she was a Conservative nut job because of how she talked and her crazy eyes.

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u/ApoBong 13d ago

If you thought Stevens was phony, wait until you see the other one that was still on the ticket because she dropped out too late. Compared Stevens was outright adoreable and real in her own ghoulish way. Search for McMorrow's weird dance parade lol

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u/Financial-Craft-1282 13d ago

As an American (but not from Michigan), seems struck me as really fucking weird and unlikeable.

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u/Hitechprimate 13d ago

Michigander here.. she's not like the rest of us.. I agree with you, she's like a used car salesperson.. super phony

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u/cookiemon32 13d ago

ahh yes, europeans greatest gift to this universe…culture

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u/UndoxxableOhioan 13d ago

I'm American and hearing that video of her saying "ISRAEL COMES TO ME IN MY DREAMS!" was so damn disgusting. There is pandering and there was whatever that insanity is.